Representative image. Photo: Ishan Khosla/Flickr CC BY NC ND 2.0
Several Indian cities – Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi, Bhubaneswar and others – found themselves enveloped in a haze of pollution just after Diwali. The air quality of these cities hovered between very bad to hazardous due to the rampant use of firecrackers even beyond the window timing. The aftermath of the festive celebrations has left these urban centres choking. As the cities grapple with this environmental concern, stricter enforcement and community awareness become increasingly necessary. The Supreme Court of India approved the use of green crackers with reduced emissions in place of the more harmful, conventional crackers in 2018. Are green firecrackers a viable solution to mitigate pollution during festivals?
Fireworks are intimately linked with celebrations and festivities in India, whether it is Diwali, elections or weddings. In October 2022, the national retail sales of firecrackers, except in Delhi, were recorded at an estimated Rs 6,000 crore, which was comparatively higher than the pre-COVID trend.
In India, a lot of the pollution observed during Diwali can be attributed to the burning of firecrackers as they release toxic chemicals and particulate matter, making breathing difficult and the sound pollution making it unbearable for animals and birds. Most Indian cities registered a steep worsening of air quality immediately after Diwali, which often coincides with the onset of winter-induced air pollution in North India that traps pollutants. Unfortunately, for the millions of people living in these parts, breathing poor or severe-quality air has become the norm.
According to the Global Burden of Disease Study (2020) published in The Lancet, around 1·67 million people died due to air pollution in India in 2019, accounting for 17.8% of the total deaths in the country. The study said that in 2019 alone, deaths attributable to air pollution account for economic losses worth $8 billion in India. Air pollution is as much a public health concern and an economic imperative, than being just an environmental hazard.
Ban on firecrackers and its utter failure
In October 2018, the Supreme Court banned the use of barium salts in making firecrackers as well as the sale and manufacture of ‘joined crackers’ (lari or long rows of joined crackers). It instead approved the use of reduced emission firecrackers, aka green crackers, that are certified by CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute. These green crackers are formulated to reduce harmful emissions by releasing water vapour as a byproduct that works as a dust suppressant. It also controls air and noise pollution by using safer substitutes of barium salts and sulphur compounds. In addition, the Supreme Court also specified the permissible time slots for bursting firecrackers – between 8 pm to 10 pm on Diwali and other festivals, and between 11:55 pm and 12:30 am for New Year and Christmas.
However, there are several lapses in the implementation of these orders. For instance, several manufacturers continued to use barium compounds in firecrackers production and labelling against the court’s rules. Even before Diwali, the market was flooded with non-green crackers carrying faulty or fake QR codes as demonstrated by a recent vendor study conducted by SwitchON Foundation across Kolkata and Ranchi. The survey found that many non-licensed shops and roadside vendors stocked up and sold non-green crackers. Around 65% of the firecrackers had wrong QR codes, which led to fake websites or those that were not responsive. In addition, only 37% of participating shopkeepers could identify green crackers through the logo and QR code.
At a consumer level, many buyers are still not aware of the existence of green crackers, and many of those who know are discouraged by the lack of variety, shortage of green crackers or difficulties in identifying green crackers. Although in theory, these can be easily identified by checking the CSIR-NEERI stamps or QR codes, or by checking the chemical ingredients, in reality, it becomes difficult without any advanced security features or lacking any high-quality hologram. Additionally, a 2023 consumer study by SwitchON revealed that only 28% of the respondents were aware of the permitted time slots, showing the need for a more persistent public awareness campaign, and stricter enforcement along with penalty and punitive action.
Towards a just green transition
While the environmental gains of implementing this move fully are clear, its impact on the people and the local economy needs to be well thought through. Removing crackers entirely or expecting an overnight shift to new technology is not feasible. With an annual turnover worth Rs 6,000 crore and an annual growth rate of about 10%, the Indian fireworks sector consists of over 500 industries and 60 ancillary units, employing close to 5 lakh families, directly or indirectly. Can all the workers be absorbed into the workstream in this transition plan? Is there a provision for their reskilling or upskilling? These questions, among others, beg due consideration. The impact on the lives and livelihood of all the 5 lakh families must be taken into account during any transition. Without addressing this, the transition is unlikely to succeed, as illegal firecrackers will find a way into the market. Moreover, it would be unjust to jeopardise the livelihood of many workers, particularly those in the unorganised sector, who are already struggling to make ends meet.
While green firecrackers have had many criticisms, some even labelling them as greenwashing, it’s crucial to acknowledge the necessity of this transition. The transition to eco-friendly fireworks involves technological advancements, regulatory changes, and market adoption, which may vary from country to country based on various factors such as policies, public awareness, and the fireworks industry’s readiness to adopt new formulations. For instance, as a major producer and consumer of fireworks, China has invested in research and development to create eco-friendly fireworks that produce fewer emissions and less noise. A 2019 study conducted in Shenzhen on Chinese National Day indicated that the use of environmentally-friendly firecrackers reduces air pollution to some extent, however, it also warrants that the number of green crackers that are used at one time should be restricted for it to have any significant reduction.
This makes it evident that through proper investments in Research and Development, green crackers can become more efficient over a period of time. The primary task is to end the production, sale and distribution of non-green firecrackers in the market even as we promote the uptake of green crackers adhering to the guidelines set by the Supreme Court for moderate usage. I propose the following three measures to facilitate this transition.
Reskilling and technical capacity building of manufacturers
The government needs to step up by providing proper training, guidelines and testing of their materials without completely destabilising the existing industry business. During the transition period, processes and partnerships need to be in place for re-skilling the existing labourers/ workers and ensuring a smooth supply chain for the new materials in manufacturing green crackers in compliance with NEERI’s formulation. It is imperative to create provisions, allocate resources and forge partnerships for providing all necessary technical, logistical or knowledge support to companies and manufacturers towards this shift without leaving anyone behind.
Consumer and vendor awareness
In India, besides the lack of awareness and variety, many buyers are inhibited by the higher relative cost of green crackers and end up choosing non-green crackers. In the absence of any clear strategy for competitive pricing, we can extrapolate research from the field of behavioural economics that reveals that environmentally conscious consumers are more likely to pay a premium price for a quality, eco-friendly product, as compared to those who are not. However, simply giving information doesn’t automatically result in behaviour change towards making sustainable choices. Simple nudges could be employed to tilt buyers’ choice towards greener options, for instance, by making it easier for them to find and purchase green crackers through better visual placement, creating sustainable branding of green products, making green the default option, or highlighting the impact of their sustainable choice at checkout counters etc.
A well-designed social campaign addressing people’s perception and responsiveness towards environmental issues could provide the much-needed impetus. The World Health Organisation has called air pollution a health emergency. We must invest heavily to create awareness of the sources of air pollution, like the efforts that were made to spread awareness about polio. Such consumer awareness has successfully been done in eradicating polio and similar efforts must be invested in spreading awareness which needs to be done consistently for a sustained impact. This awareness would also need to be directed towards vendors and as the market shifts to green crackers, vendors would automatically shift. Simultaneously, the vendors’ must be trained in ways to authenticate the genuineness of their products.
The next step would be to easily identify and educate people on ways to identify and authenticate green crackers such as by checking the CSIR-NEERI stamps or QR codes and finally the details of the ban and its associated punishments. Besides consumers, vendor awareness is critical as they are essential stakeholders in making this transition successful. There is an urgent need to update the means of authentication, as it not only thwarts all efforts to eliminate harmful illegal crackers but also results in a massive loss of revenue to the state.
Strengthening compliance
Finally, a robust compliance mechanism will play a pivotal role in promoting the uptake of green crackers and curbing the rampant use of illegal and counterfeit crackers. Police compliance needs to be enforced across the entire supply chain, including at the manufacturing, retail and consumer level. Non-compliance with green cracker regulations by manufacturers should invite heavy penalties such as hefty fines, suspension of licenses or even legal action. At the retail or vendor, compliance involves disrupting the illegal cracker production and sale, identifying and taking strong punitive action against illegal sellers, vendors and manufacturers. The Police will play a crucial role by conducting raids to prevent the sale and bursting of illegal firecrackers. Prior to this, it’s essential to educate the vendors and consumers about the ban, similar to the successful safety drives where the police enforced strict measures for helmets and seatbelts successfully reducing road fatalities, severe injuries, and deaths by imposing substantial penalties and fines.
Achieving a lasting solution to air pollution during festive seasons necessitates a sustained and targeted social messaging campaign, challenging public perceptions, deploying a range of strategies such as nudges and incentives to diffuse, if not completely dissociate, the bursting of crackers from festive celebration, and highlighting healthier and cleaner ways to celebrate festivals. This demands a system-wide collaboration between all stakeholders including NEERI, manufacturers, vendors, intermediaries, schools, parents, healthcare professionals, influencers, government bodies, law enforcement, residential welfare associations (RWAs), and civil society organisations (CSOs) to collectively foster behavioural change. As the festivities come to an end, it’s easy to shift our attention away from firecrackers. However, the urgency to take action is now; otherwise, we’ll only remember firecrackers just before Diwali and non-green firecrackers will flood the market, disregarding the Supreme Court Order again next year.
Vinay Jaju is the Managing Director of SwitchON Foundation.